I'm moving to Fresno. Where should I look to live? Avoid?

Hi Fresno!

I just got a job offer in Fresno and will be moving out there within the next two weeks. I'm moving there from L.A. The job is in Madera to be exact. Do you have any recommendations for where I should look to live? Where I should avoid?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: HOLY CRAP! Thank you all for the responses! A lot of info here. From what I've gathered, the safe but boring life awaits me near Clovis while the more fun but a bit more crime ridden areas are south and west of Clovis. I'm really looking to move into a loft rather than an apartment. But unfortunately I can only find lofts south of the 180. I will definitely keep searching Closer to clovis as I will often get home late.

Edit 2: So I'm most likely going to look for something in Northern Fresno near the 99 to be somewhat close to work. But I've had my eye on these lofts that look really nice and are relatively cheap. They're just further south. Could anyone tell me if these lofts are in areas I should avoid?

I've been in Fresno for 18 years now. When I was moving here I was told to live, "North of Shaw and / or East of Clovis". These days I'm told to live "North of Herndon".

I lived in Clovis for 7 years. It was... nice. I lived in Fresno for another 7 years, right across from the University. That was okay too.

Two years ago I purchased a home in the Tower District. There's crime there. The Ghetto Bird flies overhead several times a week, sometimes nightly. People go through my garbage on the curb.

But my neighbors are working class people who work hard to keep their houses looking good. I've got a huge wrap-around porch, and 1700 square feet of house, plus a mini-cellar and huge detached garage.

I built a 6-foot fence around the yard, got a cool dog to watch the yard, and put in a security system. My mortgage, insurance AND taxes is a couple of hundred dollars less than what I paid in rent. And I can walk to the Tower Theater.

Do a Google maps tour of the neighborhoods before you move here. Watch the news.

One other thing, there are a couple of rental companies you should know about. I know you're looking at a loft, but these two companies have lots of connections - they might be connected to the property you rent.

Look out for JD Homes. They are currently in a legal battle with the city for being a slumlord company. They tend to respond very slowly to tenants for needed repairs. They put as little money into their properties as possible. Their properties tend to stay vacant for a very long time.

Also look out for any property owned by Gary Brown properties. They are usually very good places to live. Usually clean and neat. But they breeze through the move in inspection, waving off stuff as "unimportant", and then on move out they will try to get you for every little scratch, gouge, and faded paint.

I lived in a Gary Brown property for 8 years, and they charged me for over $2,000 of repairs that would be called "wear and tear" by any other property company. They took me to court, and were "awarded" damages of $400. (They kept my deposit). Other apartment managers have told me horror stories from tenants who moved out of Gary Brown properties.

Get onto Facebook and look up Fresno. There are a couple of Fresno Neighborhood watch groups there - Check them out.

I live/work/play in the area you refer to in your second edit. I personally love it. More of a homeless presence for sure, but the lofts are nice, there's a rad emerging art and music scene, and good night life/bars are starting to pop up. A lot of young people are starting to flood in. It has had a bad reputation in the past, but is quickly becoming the place to be. Edit: to summarize, it's a good place to get connected with an emerging community that's doing new and innovative things.

I used to work out of the same place with that dude when I first moved to Fresno. We'd be in there late at night together. One night he left and got fucking stabbed and killed right outside. Could have been me. Easily could have been me. I haven't been back to Hashtag since. Fuck the Tower.

Grew up in the IE, 30 years before moving to Fresno. Unless you're from a nice neighborhood down south, you're not gonna have much trouble figuring out where to go and where NOT to go here in Fresno. The shitty parts of town here look just like they do back home. The big thing you'll notice in Fresno vs So-Cal is the lack of cohesive "good areas" or "bad areas". You can be in a nasty hood here and drive 3 blocks and all the sudden it's not too bad. Drive 3 more and you hit another nasty patch. That's why you'll see some conflicting opinions of where in Fresno is good or bad. Are parts of Tower fucked up? Yes, but there's little bubbles of nice areas down there, or by Fresno High. And there's run down shit areas north of Shaw too. It's because Fresno is Fresno. It's one city. Not like back home where every 2 miles you're in a different city. Hope that makes sense.

If your work is in Madera, you might want to consider living close to the 99. I suggest the Herndon and 99 area, there are nice homes and apartments to choose from. Plus, if you hop on the 99 North it takes you into Madera.

Depends on your budget & lifestyle. If you're looking for a place with some charm & nearby nightlife go with Tower. It's a quick shot to 99. If you're content with an apartment complex, there's lots near Riverpark. There are lots of newish trackhomes near Central. You may also find a cool place in the Madera Ranchos or Valley Children's.

PS: You reminded me of a time where I pulled out a regular old non-smart phone (I called it my dumb-phone) whilst chatting with some lawyers at a patent conference I attended a couple years ago. The lawyer asked me where I lie on the Apple versus Android debate and I said "Android but it doesn't really matter right now" and pulled out my good ol' physical buttons dumb-phone, good for calling and that's it. He proceeded to say "Woah dude, you're like some telephonic hipster".

Hi! I would definitely avoid areas south of the 180 freeway. Try to stay north of that, or, to be more exact, on the north side of the Fresno Airport. I've lived in Fresno for 3 years and there's a noticeable increase in some shady areas in those parts.

I'm sure there are some decent places in those parts I just mentioned, but I think it'd be best to look elsewhere. Personally, I would recommend you check out accommodations in either Clovis or areas in northern Fresno.

If you're going to be commuting to Madera, you definitely want to look at something close to the 168 or the 41 so that you can jump on the 99 quickly.

I lived in a 3 b/r House on Shaw and Fresno (right across from the Fashion Fair mall) and got my mail and my potted succulents stolen right off my front porch, repeatedly. Half families, half shady. $1,050/mo

I lived in a small 2 b/r condo off Bullard/41 and had no problems. All good neighbors. $800/mo

I lived off of Alluvial and First in a 3 bedroom. Friendly neighbors, no problems there either. That was $1,600/mo.

None included gas/electricity. Hope that gives you an idea. Those are just my experiences, and what I paid for what I got.

You've gotten some good responses here already, but I just want to point out that /r/Fresno can essentially turn into /r/TowerDistrict at times so the advice might be a little biased. Tower can be fun and it's a good fit for artsy/nightlife types, but it's not for everybody. That fact that it was the neighborhood that inspired the nation's Three Strikes Law might be a concern, for example.

I'm not sure what you're looking for, but if you're planing on renting then I would check out the apartments on Nees in the Riverpark area. It's a nice area that's really close to everything- including Madera. The freeway entrance is right around the corner.